Hong Kong’s Murder Mystery: Who Is Poisoning the Dogs?

An older sign on Bowen Road, a popular dog-walking path, cautioned owners to be vigilant.CreditCreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

By Austin Ramzy

June 6, 2016

Grim reminders of some of Hong Kong’s most gruesome murders line Bowen Road: signs posted every few hundred steps that warn, “Beware of Dog Poisoning.”

The Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has recorded 66 cases of suspected dog poisoning on Bowen Road and nearby Black’s Link since 2003, including 14 dogs that have died. The group says that since the killings began in the late 1980s, the number of dogs killed may total 200 or more.

Dogs have been poisoned all over Hong Kong, but Bowen Road’s central location — on a hillside lined with parks, shrines and elegant mansions that offers sweeping views of the city’s skyline — has meant that the cases there have attracted the most attention. Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s last colonial governor, almost lost his Norfolk terrier Whisky after the dog ate poisoned bait left along the road in 1997.

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A man walking his dogs in May along Bowen Road in Hong Kong, the site of dozens of dog poisonings.CreditLam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Officials still don’t know who is responsible. Some investigators believe that whoever is behind the poisonings gets a disturbed thrill from taking a life.

“There’s only been one successful prosecution, because this is done in a covert way,” said Danielle Baber, the deputy chief officer for the Hong Kong S.P.C.A.’s inspectorate. “Unless there’s a witness to something, particularly somebody putting bait out, it’s difficult to find a suspect. And whether it’s the same person or copycats, that’s difficult to say.”

The motives are not clear. Theories include fear or hatred of dogs, or annoyance at owners who don’t clean up after their pets. Part of Bowen Road is car-free, and people often walk or run with their dogs there.

The bait is usually a piece of chicken or pork laced with commonly available pesticides, which the S.P.C.A. warns can cause “vomiting, diarrhea, trembling, breathing difficulty, convulsions, collapse and, in some cases, death.”

Warnings and greater surveillance seem to have helped reduce the frequency of the poisonings, but they have not stopped: Another pet dog’s body was found on Bowen Road in mid-May. Poisoning is suspected.